All

So, In my previous post, I promised that I will tell you all about my decision to ride to Lithuania and back, on a motorbike that, at the time, I’ve been riding for less than a month.

After demanding three weeks of holiday from my previous job, I decided to spend it with my father in the countryside of Lithuania. Problem was that I waited too long to buy the flight tickets and three days before my first day of holiday I decided not to pay £250 for a 12-hour return flight to Lithuania. Instead, I had a spontaneous idea that I should motorbike across seven countries. Starting from England and going through France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Poland and arriving in Lithuania. It’s roughly 1500 miles to my destination when avoiding the motorways. What could go wrong?

The Decision

My decision didn’t have much thought or research behind it, it never does. I just google mapped the route and only told my parents that I was going on the motorbike. My mum, of course, had a heart attack but my father said “Hell yea!”. Then, I whizzed around London for two days looking for and buying the necessities I knew I’d have to have. I did an oil and battery change on my bike and bought some bungee straps to fit my luggage on the back of it. Seeing as I was planning to camp along with my route, I bought a mini stove for days where I could not make a fire. The plan was flawless.

Way there

Sunday finally arrived, the day I had to dispatch. Of course, I had to have a morning shift on the bar that day. Why would it be any other way? As a result, I had to book a fairy for 10 pm. Arrival to France was past midnight so I decided to book a hotel room for my first night. I did not want to look for a camping spot in the dark, in a country I’m not familiar with. The following day, my trip truly began. I was woken up by a hotel attendant as I overslept. I had a couple of coffees and set off for Belgium where I had my first night out in the woods. On the second day, I rode through Netherlands and halfway into Germany.

Near Hanover, is where I had my first ever fall. My bike fell from under me when turning on a bit of gravel. Seeing as I got away with small scratches on my knee and palms, I was more worried about the bike as it fell onto its exhaust side. After parking up, inspecting my bike and kissing my own booboos. I set off to find my second camping spot.

The following day I made it all the way to Poland. Crossing the border was super sketchy. I found myself transitioning from seamless roads to gravel and potholes in a blink of an eye. After my fall in Germany, I thought that it would take me 8 days to ride through Poland at 10mph. But, further into the country, roads got a fair bit better and my worries faded. By evening, I found myself in Grudziadz. I was lazy and found some excuses to book a hotel. In the shower, I discovered a tick on my ribs. A little politician-like parasite that buries its head under your skin and bloat itself up with blood until it literally can no longer walk. Disgusting fellas. It can be tricky pulling them out. You must gently, grab it closest to its head and carefully twist its neck until it lets go. Then you burn the devil.

Lithuania

The following night was my arrival to Lithuania. The countryside building where I would stay for two weeks belongs to a hunter. Although, he does not live there. My father looks after this place and uses it as a workshop for his woodwork. Its a beautiful, old-fashioned structure in a middle of a Forrest. It has an ancient wood and stone sauna right next to the lake. There is nothing like getting but naked in the sauna and running out into a nice cool lake for a swim.

The following two weeks I spent there, was working with my dad and hunting with the hunter. I made myself a bushcraft knife and a leather shieth to go with it. Had some good practice skinning and splitting a wild boar and a rabbit.

It was very therapeutic to spend some time away from the city and its distractions, working with my hands and having the time to think and decide what to do next.

Return

On the way back, it was a similar story as the way there. Before I left Lithuania I had to change my back tyre. Trouble was that my bike is quite small and it is hard to find the right tyres for it in Lithuania. I ended up having to purchase a second-hand nylon tyre from a market. I don’t even know why they make nylon tyres as they are a death trap. That tyre was the reason for the greatest fall I ever had.

In Poland, somewhere near Swiebodzin, I rode in fast-moving traffic at around 40mph. It started to rain and in a blink of an eye, I was sliding. I remember opening my eyes while on the ground. I looked around and realise what just happened. My bike was on top of my leg, there was a car in front of me and a car behind me. To my left cars were moving even faster. I could feel the rainwater building up against my shoulder as I slid down the road. This was where I closed my eyes and thought to myself “let’s just slide it out”. I don’t know how long the bike was riding me, but it felt like a few Mississippis.

When it finally came to a stop I realised how lucky I was. I didn’t hit anybody and I got away with some road rash on my hip and my jacket was torn. Inspecting the bike was not so fun. My left handlebar was bent inwards. After a few minutes, I had realised that my phone popped out of the handlebar holster. That thing was a mess, the bike must have been sliding on top of it the entire time I was down.

So here I was, in Poland, on a Sunday evening, with a bent handlebar and no map. The sun was setting and shops were closed. There was nowhere I could camp so I had to move on. I decided to jump on the motorway and by night I made it all the way to Berlin. On the outskirts of the capital was where I camped.

I must have camped on private property as in the morning I was greeted by a nice German fella. We spoke in sign language, but I’m sure that he was telling me that I could not camp here. I explained to him my situation, so he left me be. I took off shortly after and when I arrived at the closest city I bought a new phone and was back on track.

I managed to make it to the fairy with a few hours to spare. A beautiful girl at the passport check let me go onto the earlier boat. I felt blessed.

Recollection

I do regret not taking any photographs during my travels. I was simply enjoying the ride with my own two eyes. On the way there and back I saw some beautiful scapes and details. I could have built an entire arsenal of images around them. But, at the time, I felt pressed for time, I set myself a timeframe of 3 days riding and I had to get there. On the way back it was a similar situation, I had a fairy to be on. In Lithuania, it felt unfair to my father, to leave early or disappear for hours taking photos. So, I just left my camera aside. This was my first, long-term motorcycle trip so I had to do it by myself. Documenting it was not on my mind as I had to explore my abilities and limits. Now that I know what I can endure and what my bike is capable of. I will most certainly have a few more trips, very soon.

We haven’t talked in quite some time now. I do realise that I haven’t been the best of bloggers. They say consistency is the key when it comes to social media presence. But, life gets in the way of each one of our endeavours.

Speaking of life, let’s catch up and see what has been going on with mine in the past few months that I seemed to lay dormant.

Previous Readings

As you might have gathered from my previous posts. I took on extra hours at a job I hated so that I could buy a motorbike. I had also developed minor creative depression and block on productivity. I was not feeling very well, and that was topped off with a letter back from the government declining my passport application. Altho, the latter I did not mention in the previous posts.

So What Happened

I worked off the time and achieved my target to buy a motorbike by the start of July. First thing I did, following my purchase, was a three-week holiday request from work. I needed a break and thought to fly to Lithuania where I would spend much time away from the city. Days before I dispatched from London I decided that instead of flying I will go on a motorbike trip instead. A lot of things happened during my ride to Lithuania and back, also within the timeframe I had spent there. But, I will cover those in the following posts.

Since I Returned

Since I got back to London, the first thing I did was hand in my leaving notice to my employer. That was extremely satisfying. Even though I had no solid plan other than look for work outside of hospitality and retail. I was certain that I no longer wish to do this to myself. The job was eating me from the inside, not to mention the lack of company ethics and respect. I wanted out, and I wanted it asap.

When I fulfilled my notice period, opportunities rose quickly. I had a new job within a week. I now work as a crew member for the Ace Crew and my job is, among other things, rigging and de-rigging stages, lights and sets for a variety of clients. A role that I enjoy far more than anything hospitality could offer. With a bonus of extremely flexible yet consistent work hours and higher wages. If I wish, I am able to take extra work on the side and travel as much as I like. There aren’t many jobs you can have, that will let you leave for a month to come back and work the following day.

What Now

I have received some emails from you guys telling me that you enjoy the blog and how I should keep it going. Although, I haven’t been feeling very motivated to take photos, videos and write these blogs, I can feel that my mojo is comming back now. So today, I would like to announce my return to social media. I will be more active and post a peace of content at least once a week. My blog posts will come out at noon on mondays and updates on sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram will be a bit more frequently.

So, join in and tell a friend. Dont be shy to coment and ask me anything.

I seem to be at one of those standpoints in my life. Everything is on hold. I begin to over-criticize myself as productivity dwindles.
My photography is shit, I hate my day job, my life rarely plays out as planned. A gloomy fog comes over my brain – and I just want to lay down on my bed and rot away. Depression settles in – and I wonder, who am I kidding? I am nowhere near good or smart enough to be a part of this industry. I don’t have the persistence or the know how to achieve my goals. I’m just banging my head against a wall and hoping that something good comes out of it.

Why am I doing this? Why would I want to be a part of this rat-race? I don’t care for millions, nor do I want to be a man of renown. Truth is, most of us are just paying the bills. I could just sit on state benefits and watch TV. Or, I could spend the rest of my days perfecting ‘the art of coffee’. It wouldn’t matter if I didn’t know that it’s no life for me.

I am very grateful that I have found a craft that I love. Many people couldn’t say the same for themselves. But, as much as I enjoy it, it can also be a curse.I am only 25 years old. Just a little snort. There is still so much for me to experience, learn and see in this world. But, I am sat here clogging up my years with the chase of a carrot. The thing that scares me the most is that even if I do catch the carrot – if I get to where most of us see as success. Is it going to be worth it all? Is it going to satisfy my hunger or is it going to leave me empty as ever?

After all, when I am on my deathbed, something tells me that I won’t be thinking about light aesthetics, camera settings or the mention of me in some magazine that no one remembers. So why is all of this so important to me now?

I just want to live a full life. Minding my own business, doing what I want to be doing whilst helping others.

It took me a quarter of a century to realise this. I think the next chapter is going to open with a big change. Transformation takes time, I’m on my way. I need to stay patient and do what I think is right.

Last week I have decided to do something new. Still Life photography is not something that I had done before and I thought it could be quite interesting to try it out. So I bought me a sheet of glossy black perspex and spent one day trying to photograph water splashes and objects. I must say, I do enjoy it for the most part but with some objects, it can get quite tedious. Sometimes, you have to shoot for post production – and I don’t like that.

Water Splash And Glass

First, I started out in my garden. The best place to shoot falling wine glasses filled with water without having to clean up the mess afterwards – with exception to broken glass, of course.
I laid down the sheet of perspex on a table that I have out there and prepared a few buckets of water. Hung a black backdrop a few feet away so that I can strobe some colour onto it. For my second Speedlight, I placed it just behind my subject with a square softbox modifier to give my subject a highlight along the edge. Then, I began dropping the glasses down onto the perspex while attempting to trigger the shutter with my remote. Oh, it was so very tedious, I took more images than I could count. And among them, there were a few interesting shots.

I will most definitely go back to this on the future dates to try some more creative things.

Still Life Objects

Shooting still life can be a little less tedious. Although it can be quite annoying as I see myself needing to shoot for post-production to achieve the image I conceptualise. It requires a lot of attention to detail. Tiny bits of dust or fingerprint smudges on the object itself or the set – can really piss one off.

Never the less I did enjoy shooting still life. I will most certainly do it again. But first, i will look into techniques and kit I can use to achieve shots that I conceptualise without having to shoot for exposure blending, clone stamp tool etc.

When I first started out with this blog I did not know how this will go. I didn’t know if I could keep it up and I never thought that it would help me to stay productive, pushing the ball towards my goals. I just knew that there is a story in this journey that I am undertaking and I hoped that there would be someone out there who would like to read about it.

Content

Now I am not a superstar photographer or videographer sharing tips and camera reviews. I am not even a fully fledged traveller telling you how you can quit your job to travel with yoga pants whilst making money from your gluttony blog. I am just any man, trying to escape the mental and financial shackles I’ve been dressed in since birth. And do what I believe I should be doing, rather than living a seemingly pre-scripted life, for the city.

Whilst my own goal is to to be self-dependant, live free, roaming the globe and exercising my skills and talents. The hopeful goal for this blog is to inspire, educate and provoke thought in the reader’s mind. I hope that I can achieve this even with just a few of you. My priority is content that matters and helps, not views that will attract sponsors. I do not track my website traffic and I do not intend to start. I am afraid that it might affect me in a wrong way.

So Far

Since I started this blog, I have been exploring my ways and trying to find the best methods to draw out a comprehensive personality blog that ties all of my skills, lessons, thoughts and philosophies in a non-conflicting manner. As I progress, a wider range of content will surface. Not only photography and travels around national parks.

In the past four months, I have done mostly that. I have visited, wild camped and photographed in a few places around England. I’ve also assigned me to numerous photo projects that are designed for personal growth and exploration of my crafts. I began a pursuit of several skills for addition to my lifestyle and I’ve documented most of it.

From Now

You can expect more. My decision to launch this personality blog has not only been more successful than I had ever anticipated. This has also been challenging, inspiring and enlightening for myself. It has driven me to do the things that I probably would still be putting off. It has given me a place to share mine and be heard.

Your support has been immense. Thank you all who read, subscribed, shared and commented on my posts. It is far more than I believed I could achieve in the first few months and it drives me to do more.

It has now been a while since I left the city for either bushcraft or a photography trip. This is because I have decided to put my head down and do some more hours at my day job so that I could buy a motorcycle.

Seeing as I will be staying in England for quite some time and travelling around the UK is quite pricey. I figured that it would be a good short-term as well as long-term investment to get myself a motorcycle license. Even having a 125cc bike, for now, will enable me to travel cheaper, easier and more spontaneously. Generally, it will be a time and money saver, after the initial investment. More importantly – a helper to maintain my creativity, productivity and thirst for exploration.

Bike

I will be taking my CBT test later on this week which will be followed by a full licence on the later date. I already have a Honda CBF125 waiting for me to purchase it – if all goes well, by the end of this month. It’s a quality bike that is relatively cheap to maintain. It has a selection of saddle bags for all my gear and insurance is cheaper than I expected for the first time rider of my age. I can not wait to have it parked in my garden.

Photography

Of course, my decision has had an effect on my photography and productivity. I work a fair bit more than I was three weeks ago. So, it is often that I feel too tired or unmotivated to get out and photograph. But knowing that it is all for a greater cause helps me to stay with my head levelled. I’m working towards a personal target that I know will be a great benefit. This helps me to stay focused and keep my head down. Even though, every day, I want to leave from here.

So, as I haven’t left London much during the past month. I have been keeping up my productivity by assigning myself to a variety of personal projects that I can do in the city. Also, whenever I had the energy, I have been going out and making up some obscure personal tasks. Such as, photographing captive zoo animals whilst trying to make them look wild. This time, I decided to photograph some cityscapes around London. I don’t usually do cityscapes. And every corner of London has been photographed a billion times over. I still thought that it would be nice to have a few of those images with my name on it.

Here are a few of Londons cityscapes and famous landmarks.

The Millenium Bridge from two different perspectives. I was not sure which one I would like more.

This is a statue known as ‘Bullet From A Shooting Star’. It had been placed near the North Greenwich Arena. I had no clue that I would have to climb over two tall fences to get to it… Right in front of the cameras.

I am not sure which one I like more.

From there I would just walk along the River Thames and capture any interesting compositions I come across.

I will definitely do this more often in the future. Cityscapes have never been one of my interests but sometimes it can be fun to photograph.

A little while ago, I had a lens dilemma. I was looking to go to Lake District for a 9-day photography trip and I did not know which Pentax K-mount lens I should go for. At the time, as I was digging through many forums, looking for options and writing them down in a list. The List contains most of the Full Frame Lenses available for Pentax K1 – both new and discontinued. Today I have decided to share this list with you all.

Many of these lenses are no longer being produced and some could be considered as trash. Never the less, I am sure that many of you could find benefit in such a list as I could of – if it was available elsewhere. I intend to showcase the large collection of lenses available for Pentax K1. From second-hand trash, through second-hand gold and right to Diamonds in production.

Pentax Compatible Full Frame lenses that I am aware of…

{Disclaimer} – There are about 204 Full Frame K-mount lenses from Pentax/Takumar alone (Majority of which has been discontinued 20+ years ago).
I would just like to make it clear that I do not include many of them because I intend to try and stay within the 21st century. With exceptions to the best and those that are still available in mint condition.

You can have a browse through the Pentax native lenses dating back to 70’s HERE.

Some of the lenses that can be found new are marked green and linked to Amazon, their manufacturer or other retailers.

D FA / D FA★ Lenses – Pentax needs to hurry up and make more of these.

Last week I thought that it would be a good idea to pop out into my local zoo and take some pictures. I thought to challenge myself, to shoot animals looking like they are in the wild. Which meant no fences, people or man-made object in the shoots. A far more difficult task than I had anticipated. Given that most animals were entirely surrounded by fences, netting, glass and man-made objects. It was very difficult to compose the shots in a manner that made the animals look wild. And the 105mm limit on my lens did not make a difference on the animals that decided to stay away.

So, for the most part, I consider my assignment to be a failure. Although, I did get a few shots that look to be on a wilder side.

Wildlife Attempts

There were very few animals that I was able to approach close enough that I could eliminate all the giveaway elements of their captivity. Mostly, these were the walk-in enclosures. Only a few could be captured over the fences and through the glass.

Here are a few shots that I like.

Captivity Obvious

Now, I wish that I took a few more of these. I was so focused on finding the best composition for the ‘Wildlife look’, that I forgot to take pictures of what I liked. I could have taken images of people interacting with animals, documented the sadness of their captivity and more. But instead, I got so fixated on what I planned to do and missed it all.

Return To Seven Sisters Cliffs

The first time that I tried to photograph at Seven Sisters Cliffs near Eastbourne. I failed miserably. This was partly due to the limitations I had in terms of my kit – and the fact that I was not fully used to my new camera. Most of all, I failed because I did not stop to think and compose my shots the way I would have liked them. I was like a child in the candy store. Taking all that I could and decide what I like later. That is not the way I want to work. So, I took it upon myself to rid of this indecisive ‘one more shot’ sickness.

Ever since that first trip, I told myself that. If I’m not sure that I like the composition, I won’t be taking a photograph. I applied this motto to all of the photo sessions that I had. Slowly but surely I reduced the number of bad photos I took. This also forced me to think deeper into my images. When I would come across a scene where I knew it had a composition present. But I would struggle to find it through the lens, I would question why. I would find the elements that I did not like and figure out a way to eliminate them from those that I did.

I believe that an exercise like that will improve your workflow and ability to ‘see through the lens’.

Correcting My Flaws

On my way back to Seven Sisters Cliffs. I had an idea for some of the subject matter I would focus on. I knew that I wanted a photo of the lighthouse, an image of the seascape and that I wanted some abstraction and simplicity shots along the beach. But, all of the above had to be composed on the spot.

I would not allow myself to take numerous images of the same subject matter unless the lighting was a changing constantly. Even then, I would try and anticipate for the breaks in the cloud that would improve the image. I would not run around the same subject, thoughtlessly snapping away at the shutter. However, a small number of intended variations was permitted.

Following the rules above, I took a lot fewer images. But, more of them are usable. I can say with confidence, that I feel more pride when showing these as I know that they are as intended.

Lighthouse

Seven Sisters Cliffs

Seven Sisters Cliffs

Seven Sisters Cliffs

Seven Sisters Cliffs

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Here are 4 variations of the lighthouse. Taken throughout different times of the day.

Seascape

Seven Sisters Cliffs

Seven Sisters Cliffs

Seven Sisters Cliffs

Seven Sisters Cliffs

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These are 4 seascape images I liked the most.

Simplicity And Abstraction

Seven Sisters Cliffs

Seven Sisters Cliffs

Seven Sisters Cliffs

Seven Sisters Cliffs

Seven Sisters Cliffs

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Here are 5 of the simple and abstract images I picked out along the beach.

Post-Production Notes

If you have been reading some of my earlier posts, you might know that I am no fan of postproduction. Hence, I have a straight out the camera style. I exercise the perfection of my images by perfecting my composition. I attempt to better induce emotion through colour by customising my white balance settings and picture profiles. My post production usually consists of a couple of brush strokes to improve the image dynamic range, clarity, vibrancy and saturation to my liking.

Those who know me in person will agree that I don’t have very good people skills. When confronted with an unknown face I tend to stay quiet and observe the individual, before I feel comfortable or confident enough to communicate. Often, if I do talk prematurely it is like my tongue knots up and I begin to slur words. At its worst case, my mind will go blank and I forget the question that was asked of me, or the topic brought up. This is something I have been working on fixing in the past few years. But, I am still nowhere near the stage where I could just walk up to a random person and start a chat with them like I’ve known them my whole life.

Influence

I get so amazed how photographers like Zack Arias or Charlie Clift are just able to walk up to people and pretend like they have known them their whole lives. The individuals they approach seem to respond in a similar fashion, they suddenly feel so comfortable around them.
This happened to me on several occasions where a random person would approach me and begin a conversation. Where, unlike my usual tortoise routine, where I back away into my shell and avoid further confrontation. I would feel inclined to talk. I have no idea how they do that but this stuff is contagious, it’s a skill I would like to acquire sometime soon.

My Plan

So, in order to help me develop this skill, I have decided to assign myself with a bunch of photography projects. Projects that I will be actively pursuing over the next couple of months.

As you might have guessed, these projects will entail me talking to some random people. But, it won’t be just about asking a random person if I could take their picture. I want to try to get to know them in the short period of time. I want to capture their stories and personalities.